All this talk of hawkbills........

[street soldier]

Well, maybe not out loud . The voices in my head, however, have been a constant irritation. Constantly whispering that I need to get a hawkbill, that the curved blade will work fine for EDC tasks, go on and get one...everyone does it.
I blame several people here:

Surfingringo: it's because of all of your posts using your knives in the ocean and the rustproof qualities of the H1 steel that I even started looking at the Tasman. I was enthralled by the fishing pics, and more than a little jealous. I ordered a PE H1 dragonfly in the hopes of scratching that rustproof itch, as my sweat seems to have the same acidic compounds of others in this forum.

Dr. Lecter, JD Spydo, and the rest of you hawkbill fanatics: once the Tasman started creeping into my thoughts, I had to do a search here on hawkbills, looking for pros and cons. Well, there were a heck of a lot more pro posts than cons. Everyone talking about how you can do "this" with a hawkbill or "that" with a hawkbill; the voices kept digging away in my head. Even food prep seems possible with a little thought.

I did research a bit on karambits, and discovered that the people of Indonesia not only used them for self defense, but also for EDC tasks as well. Granted, they are probably much more agrarian in their day to day activities, but it can be done.

So, I finally succumbed to my inner brainwashing/ nagging and ordered not one, but two hawkbills. A SE H1 Ladybug hawkbill and PE Tasman salt, both with yellow handles. I figure the ladybug will ride shotgun nicely in the bottom of my pocket, and the Tasman will see usage as an overall EDC in my back pocket next to the wallet.

While I'm waiting for them to arrive, can I ask all of the enablers out there to post pics of their hawkbills to help me pass the time? One pic I'd like to see a close up of, if possible, is the ladybug hawkbill closed. I've read about there being a small gap between the blade and the handle when it's closed, but I haven't been able to get a detailed look. Anyone have issues with this?

Thanks.

John

[JD Spydo]

Well Brother you've come to the right place :D Now do understand my complete position on Hawkbill blades>> I use them mostly as a companion blade to the main EDC I carry daily>> and my main EDC is usually a plain edge like the Ayoob, Military, Caly Jr., or any number of Great Spyderco models I use. Also I use a Spyderedged Hawkbill a lot more than I do my plain edged Hawkbills. The Spyderedge really made the Hawkbill design a super useful tool that was never able to be used for certain chores prior to Spyderco coming out with Spyderedged versions.

A lot of people perceive Hawkbills blades as self defense gems and they can be under the right cirsumstances but mostly to me they are great for many utility uses. Pull Cutting is the strong point of the Hawkbill blade and much more so with the serrated versions again rather than the plain edged versions.

I do recommend you start off with either a TASMAN, Merlin or a Harpy before you ever try something extremely big like a Spyderhawk. As far as the Karambit goes I've had those but I find their utility cutting ability rather limited..>> mainly because most all of them I've ever owned or used are plain edged models. I never even seen Spyderco do a serrated version which does sort of surprise me a little. But it surprised me a lot when they released the Superhawk only in plain edge>> because that knife would have really been a beast in Spyderedge I'm sure of it.

Welcome to the Fraternity of the curved blade my friend. You'll get the hang of the Hawkbill blade quickly I'm sure. And sharpening them is a completely different job all together so you must have patience for that job believe me.

[remnar]

Here's a pic of the Ladybug:



This one stays on my keys and I've never had the blade catch on anything.

Here's a pic of the Tasman that I got about a week ago:



This thing has been better than I expected. I've been using it while doing yard work, cutting back blackberries, and some general duty stuff. It's great for pull cuts on blackberry stems. :) Now I think that I need the serrated version.

[Surfingringo]

Well when I started reading your post and saw that you "blamed" certain people, I found immediately found myself hoping I had made the list. Imagine my elation when I saw that I was at the TOP of it! :) . Personally, I rarely carry the tasman as a primary edc, but it is hard to beat as a second knife! Super useful for a lot of tasks! Enjoy.

[street soldier]

JD: thanks for the welcome. I'm not a fan of large blades, so I don't think the spyderhawk would appeal to me(I know, I know. Never say never). The Tasman and hawkbill ladybug should get here at some point later in the week. I will have a PE knife of some sort on me while carrying the Tasman, but I'm curious to see if I can accomplish my EDC tasks with it. I've read the differences between PE and SE, and chose PE for the Tasman for overall EDC tasks. The smaller ladybug is SE. If I find that the SE of the ladybug works well I may switch to a SE Tasman.

Remnar: thank you for the picture of the ladybug. Great shot of the opening between the blade and handle. Really shows the gap. Hopefully it won't be a problem.

Surfingringo: yep, you were the main culprit! I really enjoy seeing your wide variety of fishing escapades, and the subsequent use of your H1 blades. Thanks for feeding my sickness.

John

[Officer Gigglez]

A couple of mine






\\

[Stuart Ackerman]

Eyeball my avatar... :D

[street soldier]

Ofc. Gigglez and Stuart: nice hawkbills!

I have looked at numerous threads concerning hawkbill usage and I'm curious if anyone has used their hawkbill as their primary EDC. I understand the potential difficulties with food prep, but have you found a way to compensate or improvise? I know of the strengths of this blade shape on fibrous materials (rope, vines, etc..). Curious to see if people have had success in other mundane, everyday tasks.

I'm slowly wading through the "now's the time: for a new hawkbill" thread from the archives (108 pages...only 64 left), so maybe there's some talk in there, but let me know what works for you!

John

Edited to add: was looking through my spyderco collection and realized I had a PE Merlin. Forgot all about it. Oh well. With the PE Tasman enroute, I'll let it stay in my safe. I only carried it once or twice, and pretty sure I never cut anything with it, so it's pretty much in new condition. And with the prices I've seen on ebay, I'm probably going to keep it in the safe.

[Officer Gigglez]

Ofc. Gigglez and Stuart: nice hawkbills!

I have looked at numerous threads concerning hawkbill usage and I'm curious if anyone has used their hawkbill as their primary EDC. I understand the potential difficulties with food prep, but have you found a way to compensate or improvise? I know of the strengths of this blade shape on fibrous materials (rope, vines, etc..). Curious to see if people have had success in other mundane, everyday tasks.

I'm slowly wading through the "now's the time: for a new hawkbill" thread from the archives (108 pages...only 64 left), so maybe there's some talk in there, but let me know what works for you!

John

Edited to add: was looking through my spyderco collection and realized I had a PE Merlin. Forgot all about it. Oh well. With the PE Tasman enroute, I'll let it stay in my safe. I only carried it once or twice, and pretty sure I never cut anything with it, so it's pretty much in new condition. And with the prices I've seen on ebay, I'm probably going to keep it in the safe.

I don't use mine for EDC stuff. Only defensive usage. My Kbit or hawkbill sits in the front pocket and my EDC utility blade, which is always a straight blade, sits in the rear pocket. I don't know that I can see a hawkbill being used for food prep (Like chopping carrots and so on) beyond maybe gutting a fish, deer, etc. Other stuff, like rope cutting, boxes, etc. I can see and they will excel at. I used my Tasman a while back for some EDC stuff, and it was still wearing the factory edge. Needless to say, it cut through Nylon, cardboard, and plastic with ease. But generally my claws are for fleshy things only.

[JD Spydo]

I've only ever talked to 2 people that told me that they used a Hawkbill for their primary EDC. I've even talked to 3 different guys in the fishing industry that used the Harpy or Tasman for their trade and they even told me that their primary knife was a conventional blade and they only used their Hawkbill for special purposes.

Now one thing I will point out is that Hawkbills are great at what they are intended for>> And there are jobs in which they excel and conventional blades don't even come close to doing what they can do in certain jobs. I was harvesting some cabbage the other day with my Spyderhawk and it even blew my mind as to how easy it went through the cabbage stalks like a laser. I also had a pallet with supplies on it that was secured with all kinds of cord and rope and plastic bands>> needless to say my SE Spyderhawk went through them with virtually no effort what so ever. It was a lot easier using a Hawkbill rather than a conventional blade on that job because with a Hawkbill you have more leverage and pull cutting power.

But I'm a guy who uses all kinds of cutlery a lot. I have a collection of safe queens and NIB blades but I'm to the point to where I use about as many of them as I collect anymore. I only have 2 Hawkbill blades that I have in my collection>> the rest of them I use from time to time. I even use my VG-10 blue handled, PE Spyderhawk on occasion. Again I solely recommend a TASMAN or Harpy as your starter Hawkbill. They are both an ideal size and they both have incredible cutting power for their size.

[Holland]

Congrats on the purchases! I too will need to try out a Tasman of some sort eventually

[sharpguitarist]

Later,
Don

[JD Spydo]

Later,
Don[/QUOTE]

Hey "Sharpguitarist" that Microtech Hawkbill is really impressive. It's not often I even pay any heed to anyone else's Hawkbill designs but that particular one really caught my eye in a good way. There was one a few years back put out by MOD that also got my attention but I haven't seen one of those in ages.

I do like the design of the CROSSBILL but for personal reasons I've yet to ever purchase one of the Byrd models. I wish they would do a Spyderco version of it with a premium steel and an upscale handle material like G-10 or CF.

I'm also hoping that it won't be long before Spyderco does a fixed blade Hawkbill. I truly think that would be a great addition to the H-1 Salt Series.

[xceptnl]

...There was one a few years back put out by MOD that also got my attention but I haven't seen one of those in ages.

Loved those original MOD models. I was really into side folding autos at that point and had an MOD Keating Hornet and Lady Hawk (both in auto). Sadly I sold them both when funds were needed. They brought a premium though and I expect they still do.

[Evil D]

I miss my Tasman Salt. It's somewhere in or around the Atlantic ocean right now, unless some lucky guy happened to find it. One of the last days I was on that beach I ran into a guy with a metal detector, and I told him I had lost a very nice knife and showed him the area I lost it in and told him it's his if he finds it, but he didn't seem to care one bit and looked at me as if I was crazy.

The only thing I really got to cut with that knife was some aloe leaves.

[street soldier]

I miss my Tasman Salt. It's somewhere in or around the Atlantic ocean right now, unless some lucky guy happened to find it. One of the last days I was on that beach I ran into a guy with a metal detector, and I told him I had lost a very nice knife and showed him the area I lost it in and told him it's his if he finds it, but he didn't seem to care one bit and looked at me as if I was crazy.

The only thing I really got to cut with that knife was some aloe leaves.

Sorry for your loss. Sounds like a great excuse to get another one, though.
Looks like those aloe leaves didn't stand a chance.

John

[Surfingringo]

I miss my Tasman Salt. It's somewhere in or around the Atlantic ocean right now, unless some lucky guy happened to find it. One of the last days I was on that beach I ran into a guy with a metal detector, and I told him I had lost a very nice knife and showed him the area I lost it in and told him it's his if he finds it, but he didn't seem to care one bit and looked at me as if I was crazy.

The only thing I really got to cut with that knife was some aloe leaves.

Sucks. I have one lying somewhere on the bottom of the pacific...along with a Pacific Salt. Meh, I've also got a refrigerator, freezer, and belly full of mackerel and red snapper as I type this. She giveth and she taketh away. The "givething" is a lot more pleasant!

[sharpguitarist]

Hey JD,
The Microtech Kestrel is a long time favorite of mine.
I bought mine several years ago on clearance for $110.
I was pleasantly surprised by the green anodized standoffs, and the super smooth action.
The lock bar is also unique for its time. A steel bar pivoting on a small post, attached with a small screw at the mid point of the presentation side aluminium scale. I think there's a small coil spring hidden between the scale and lockbar, that exerts pressure to lock the knife.
The lockup is solid with a satisfying sound when the lock engages.
I wish I would have had the funds back then to have bought all the variations of the knife, including the autos.
Later,
Don

[JD Spydo]

Hey JD,
The Microtech Kestrel is a long time favorite of mine.
I bought mine several years ago on clearance for $110.
I was pleasantly surprised by the green anodized standoffs, and the super smooth action.
The lock bar is also unique for its time. A steel bar pivoting on a small post, attached with a small screw at the mid point of the presentation side aluminium scale. I think there's a small coil spring hidden between the scale and lockbar, that exerts pressure to lock the knife.
The lockup is solid with a satisfying sound when the lock engages.
I wish I would have had the funds back then to have bought all the variations of the knife, including the autos.
Later,
Don

I do find it interesting that more commercial knife companies are starting to take a look at Hawkbills as part of their line up. Like I said earlier that older MOD model was truly a nice piece and was made with S30V blade steel and a titanium handle. Microtech is a weird company to me>> I either really love certain models or I don't care about them at all. They do have some impressive automatics but I've lost my love for automatics because I find the Spyderhole to be almost as fast and no legal problems to speak of. I do however like the idea of an automatic Hawkbill and might someday add one of those to my collection.

It seems funny to me that some of the other top tier companies don't seem to want to market anything like a Hawkbill. And maybe that's because Spyderco's are so good that they actually intimidate the competition to a degree. Even with the Karambit craze that caught fire during the last 5 years of the previous decade; it didn't seem to spur many new companies making Hawkbill blades>> and I seriously thought that it would have. I must admit that Hawkbill blades are truly a specialized tool and not many knife users justify owning one. I didn't care for them much until I took one out in the wetlands by mistake and was blown away by the performance of one of my VG-10 Spyderhawk models. Then I never looked back and will now always have one as a companion blade.

This thread is interesting and I hope more will join in.

[v8r]

I'm thinking H1 Superhawk with serrations.............